Eastern hognose snake
Scientific name: Heterodon platirhinos Latreille, 1801
Overview
The eastern hog-nosed snake is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The venom is specifically adapted to amphibian prey and is harmless to humans. However, some people may have an allergic reaction and as a result experience local swelling and other symptoms. The species is endemic to North America. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. This species prefers habitats with sandy soils and a combination of grass fields and forest edges. It comes in many different colorations and has the identifiable upturned "snout." It can be found in captivity, but is a relatively difficult species to keep due to a specialized diet of toads. As with other Heterodon species, it has a distinctive threat reaction of first bluffing by striking with a closed mouth and then, if this fails to deter the threat, pretending to die.
From the Wikipedia article “Eastern hognose snake”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: SE Canada (Ontario),.
Common names
Also known in English as Eastern Hog-nosed Snake.
Names in other languages (5)
- Chinese
- 東部豬鼻蛇
- German
- Hakennasennatter, Östliche Hakennatter
- Japanese
- トウブシシバナヘビ
- Persian
- صاغرمار آمریکایی
- Russian
- Широконосая восточная змея
Related animals
Sources
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Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Reptile Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q2699564, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Eastern hognose snake”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Bladerunner8u, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026